1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printing liquid container, a printing liquid filled container, an image forming apparatus, and a printing liquid filled container manufacturing method.
2. Background Art
An image forming apparatus, such as a printer, facsimile, copying machine, plotter or multi-function machine thereof, is known as an example of an image forming apparatus that employs a liquid droplet jetting recording method to jet a printing liquid, such as for example ink, as liquid droplets using a recording head.
There are examples of such an image forming apparatus that uses a liquid droplet jetting recording method, in which a liquid is supplied from a printing liquid container to a recording head and/or a main tank in communication with the recording head.
For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 7-290717, an ink supply device is described in which a hole is pierced with a hole piercing tool in a sealing portion that seals an opening of a printing liquid container, and the ink supply device feeds ink from the printing liquid container to a recording head.
More specifically the sealing portion is configured as a thin film, and a hole is pierced in the sealing portion by first providing an ink hole in the sealing portion, then stretching the thin film with the hole piercing tool so as to expand the ink hole to enlarge and allow ink to flow out from the opening.
In JP-A No. 2007-38537 there is also a description of a sealing portion for sealing an opening of a printing liquid container formed with fine grooves, of either a cross shape or a radiating star shape, at a position where the leading end of a hole piercing tool makes initial contact, so as to smoothly pierce a hole in the sealing portion and to consistently achieve a specific shape for the ruptured shape of the sealing portion.
However, in the configuration of JP-A No. 7-290717, since the ink hole is provided in the sealing portion, the ink may drip out from the ink hole. Furthermore, since the ink hole is expanded by stretching the thin film with the hole piercing tool, the opening area in the sealing portion cannot be expanded to any greater than the size of the hole piercing tool.
Furthermore, in the configuration of JP-A No. 2007-38537, since fine grooves are formed at the position where the leading end of the hole piercing tool makes initial contact, the opening surface area of the sealing portion cannot be expanded greater than the size of the hole piercing tool. Furthermore, when the leading end of the hole piercing tool makes initial contact with the fine grooves, the fine grooves rupture prior to stress being transmitted to other positions of the sealing portion, and other positions on the sealing portion may not rupture. Consequently, the opening surface area in the sealing portion cannot be expanded.